Hindawi Publishing Corporation Case Reports in Cardiology Volume 2015, Article ID 158948, 3 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/158948
Case Report Electrical Injury-Induced Complete Atrioventricular Block: Is Permanent Pacemaker Required? Osman Beton,1 Tolga Han Efe,2 Hakki Kaya,1 Murat Bilgin,2 Lale Dinc Asarcikli,2 and Mehmet Birhan Yilmaz1 1
Department of Cardiology, Cumhuriyet University, 58140 Sivas, Turkey Diskapi Research and Training Hospital, 06110 Ankara, Turkey
2
Correspondence should be addressed to Osman Beton; [email protected] Received 2 November 2015; Revised 3 December 2015; Accepted 7 December 2015 Academic Editor: Assad Movahed Copyright © 2015 Osman Beton et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. A considerable percentage of electrical injuries occur as a result of work activities. Electrical injury can lead to various cardiovascular disorders: acute myocardial necrosis, myocardial ischemia, heart failure, arrhythmias, hemorrhagic pericarditis, acute hypertension with peripheral vasospasm, and anomalous, nonspecific ECG alterations. Ventricular fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia resulting from electrical injury and is the leading cause of death in electrical (especially low voltage alternating current) injury cases. Asystole, premature ventricular contractions, ventricular tachycardia, conduction disorders (various degrees of heart blocks, bundle-brunch blocks), supraventricular tachycardia, and atrial fibrillation are the other arrhythmic complications of electrical injury. Complete atrioventricular block has rarely been reported and permanent pacemaker was required for the treatment in some of these cases. Herein, we present a case of reversible complete atrioventricular block due to low voltage electrical injury in a young electrical technician.
1. Introduction Majority of deaths in adults due to electrical injury are work related, and electrical injury is a frequent cause of work related injury deaths [1]. The primary predictor of injury caused by direct effects of electricity is the extent of current passing through the body [1]. The heart is one of the most susceptible organs to electrical injury which may cause abnormalities such as fatal arrhythmias (asystole, ventricular fibrillation), structural damage, and conduction disturbances [2]. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the most common cause of death in electrical (especially low voltage alternating current) injury [3]. Alternating current (AC) is the most frequent cause of electrical injury [1]. Exposure to high voltage current (>1000 volts, AC or direct current) will most likely cause ventricular asystole, whereas exposure to low voltage (
Case Report Electrical Injury-Induced Complete Atrioventricular Block: Is Permanent Pacemaker Required? Osman Beton,1 Tolga Han Efe,2 Hakki Kaya,1 Murat Bilgin,2 Lale Dinc Asarcikli,2 and Mehmet Birhan Yilmaz1 1
Department of Cardiology, Cumhuriyet University, 58140 Sivas, Turkey Diskapi Research and Training Hospital, 06110 Ankara, Turkey
2
Correspondence should be addressed to Osman Beton; [email protected] Received 2 November 2015; Revised 3 December 2015; Accepted 7 December 2015 Academic Editor: Assad Movahed Copyright © 2015 Osman Beton et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. A considerable percentage of electrical injuries occur as a result of work activities. Electrical injury can lead to various cardiovascular disorders: acute myocardial necrosis, myocardial ischemia, heart failure, arrhythmias, hemorrhagic pericarditis, acute hypertension with peripheral vasospasm, and anomalous, nonspecific ECG alterations. Ventricular fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia resulting from electrical injury and is the leading cause of death in electrical (especially low voltage alternating current) injury cases. Asystole, premature ventricular contractions, ventricular tachycardia, conduction disorders (various degrees of heart blocks, bundle-brunch blocks), supraventricular tachycardia, and atrial fibrillation are the other arrhythmic complications of electrical injury. Complete atrioventricular block has rarely been reported and permanent pacemaker was required for the treatment in some of these cases. Herein, we present a case of reversible complete atrioventricular block due to low voltage electrical injury in a young electrical technician.
1. Introduction Majority of deaths in adults due to electrical injury are work related, and electrical injury is a frequent cause of work related injury deaths [1]. The primary predictor of injury caused by direct effects of electricity is the extent of current passing through the body [1]. The heart is one of the most susceptible organs to electrical injury which may cause abnormalities such as fatal arrhythmias (asystole, ventricular fibrillation), structural damage, and conduction disturbances [2]. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the most common cause of death in electrical (especially low voltage alternating current) injury [3]. Alternating current (AC) is the most frequent cause of electrical injury [1]. Exposure to high voltage current (>1000 volts, AC or direct current) will most likely cause ventricular asystole, whereas exposure to low voltage (
